Shoot Hoops Not Drugs Camp draws youth from five counties

A Shoot Hoops Not Drugs Camp was held at Wolfe County High School on Monday, June 22. photo courtesy of Operation UNITE

STAFF REPORT

BSN

CAMPTON – The second-to-last Shoot Hoops Not Drugs Camp of 2026 was conducted at Wolfe County High School on Monday, June 22.

A total of 33 youth from five counties – Breathitt, Jessamine, Johnson, Morgan and Wolfe – participated in the skills program provided by Jarrod Polson, a former University of Kentucky (UK) point guard and four-time All-SEC Academic Team member who was part of the 2011-12 National Championship squad.

Winning portable basketball goals given out at the conclusion of camp were 7-year-old Courtney Robertson of Jackson (Breathitt County) and 6-year-old Lucas Getchell of Wolfe County.

Assisting with the camp were four members of the Wolfe Countians Against Drugs UNITE Coalition and 14 volunteers from Redemption Road Recovery Center for Men in Knox County.

Eight parents/guardians attended in an educational presentation on “One Pill Can Kill,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s educational program about the dangers posed by Fentanyl.

This summer, Operation UNITE hosted a total of eight free regional camps.

This is the 21st summer Operation UNITE offered Shoot Hoops Not Drugs basketball camps.

A breakdown of the sponsors who made the 2026 Shoot Hoops Not Drugs basketball camps possible follows.

Event Sponsor: Kentucky Army National Guard.

Gold Sponsors: Beacons of Hope, Bob Allen Motor Mall, Cumberland Gap Mountain Spring Water, Kentucky River Regional Prevention Center (Wolfe County), Mountain Telephone, Nelson County Government, Primary Care Centers of Eastern Kentucky, Pikeville Walmart, WellCare.

Silver Sponsors: AdventHealth Manchester, AmeriCorps Kentucky, Baird & Paird PSC, Brown Food Service, Inc., CHI Saint Joseph Health London, Community Trust Bank, Estill County ASAP, Ephraim McDowell Health, KY HELP Statewide Call Center, Magoffin County ASAP, Martin’s Equipment Group, New Beginnings Chiropractic, Robbie Davis Memorial Foundation, Sav-Rite Home Care, UNITE Pike Community Coalition, Valley Discount Pharmacy, and Volunteers of America Mid-States.

Bronze Sponsors: Chaplain Christian Church, D.G. Trucking, Don Franklin Family of Dealerships, Elliott County FRYSC, Food City-Pikeville, Martin’s Peterbilt, Kathy Miles, Tyson Foods.